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Another point I wanted to mention from Kato Shihan's seminar this past weekend was his use of atemi.

Atemi, Atemi everywhere! He didn't need to use it, actual phyically contacting atemi, but he showed where it was and could be. He used both Kiai and Physical Atemi often and used it to keep his uke off guard.

Speed is important. But just as important was his tai sabaki and atemi. The punches he threw were accurate, well timed and caused the uke to lose balance. Whether it was a punch to the face, upper body, groin (Yikes, but it was there) or kick to the gut (yes, the man can kick... and fast!) the atemi always caused the uke to react in such a manner as to be off balance.

Once off balance, Sensei could walk through the technique. Uke had no choice, being doubled over and arms flailing about like a drowning branch, he would just take the arm/hand closest to him and continue in a very nonchalant way of finishing the technique.

His kiai, and I mention this because there are a couple threads going about this subject right now, was loud and direct. It sounded low and gutteral, meaning from the gut and deep from within.

Another point about kiai that I think is often overlooked is the FACT that when you exhale, it causes you to relax. When you relax, you can do aikido. When you tense up and use muscle, you're not doing aikido. I really hope I learn how to use this to my advantage before my next test, otherwise I'm going to be exhausted really, really fast on my next test.